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DESCRIBING TEACHERS
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± Democratic style
Being democratic and letting student participate in decision
making takes more effect and organization that controlling the
class from the front.
± Autocratic style
it is only one view of the teaching-learning relationship and
very culturally biased. The teacher is being autocratic and
monopolize all of the activity in the class.
 IN THE CLASSROOM
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when teachers act as controllers, they are in charge of the
class and of the activity taking place and often µleading from the
front¶. Controllers take the register, tell students things, organize
drills, read aloud and in various other ways exemplify the
qualities of teacher-fronted classroom.

there are times when acting as a controller makes sense, for

example when giving explanations, organizing question and
answer work, lecturing, making announcements or bringing a
class to order.
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›ometimes, when students are involved a role-play
activity for example, students lose the tread of what is
going on, or they are µlost for words¶ (i.e. they may still
have the thread but be unable to proceed productively for
luck of vocabulary)

in such situations we want to help but we don¶t want,

at that stage, to take charge. This is because we are keen
to encourage the students to think creatively rather than
have them hang on our every word.




the traditional picture of teachers during students discussions,
role-plays or group decision-making activities, is of people who µstand
back¶ from the activity, letting the learners get on with it and only
intervening later to offer feedback and/or correct mistakes.
there are good reason why we might want to take part in a
discussion, for example. It means that we can liven things up from the
inside instead of always having to prompt or organize from outside the
group. When it goes well, students enjoy having the teacher with
them, and for the teacher, participating, often more enjoyable than
acting as a resource.
the danger when teachers act as participants, of course, is that
they can easily dominate the proceeding.
 
the students may still have need of their teacher as a
resource. They might need to ask how to say or write something
or ask what a word or phrase means. They might want to know
information in the middle of an activity about that activity or they
might want information about where to look for something-a book
or website, for example. This is where we can be one of the most
important resources they have.

when we are acting as a resource, we will want to be helpful

and available, but at the same time we have to resist the urge to
spoofed our students so that they become over reliant on us.
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when student are working on longer project, such us process writing or
preparation for a text or debate, we can work with individuals or small groups,
pointing them in directions they have not yet thought of taking. In such
situations, we are combining the roles of prompter and resource-in other word,
acting as a tutor

it is essential for us to act as tutors from time to time, however difficult

this may be. In this more personal contact, the learners have a real chance to
feel supported and helped, and the general class atmosphere is greatly
chanced as a result. Nevertheless, as with prompting and acting as a resource,
we need make sure that we do not intrude either too much (which will impede
learner autonomy) or too little (which will be unhelpful).
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